1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is directed to an ecology system for draining fuel from the manifold of a gas turbine engine and more particularly, to an ecology system for draining and storing liquid fuel from the manifold in a self-contained manner.
2. Background of the Related Art
Manifold draining systems are useful in aerospace applications where gas turbine engines are used. If the fuel is allowed to remain in the engine manifold after shutdown, the fuel may collect to create a hot start or coke from heat exposure. To avoid these problems, several systems have been developed.
In a traditional system, a separate tank is used to collect fuel from the manifold by actuating a solenoid valve. Other systems also send the manifold fuel back to the fuel tanks by an alternative flowpath. In either case, the fuel system is closed such that the volume pulled back out of the manifold must be absorbed or stored some where in the fuel system. Utilization of separate/external means to store the volume of manifold fuel is particularly undesirable to manage as is inclusion of alternative flowpaths and devices like the aforementioned solenoid.
Examples of ecology systems for fuel systems are disclosed in: U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,771 to Wernberg issued on Sep. 22, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,998 to Futa, Jr. et al. issued on Nov. 13, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,962 to Futa, Jr. et al. issued on May 14, 2002; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,939 to Futa, Jr. et al. issued on Jun. 22, 2004, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.